Somebody That I Used to Know
by Shall.we.then
Summary: The team has a new member. The only hurdle she'll have to jump is her past with a certain genius.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I thought I'd give a Reid fic a go. **

"What's going on?" the young doctor asked Agent Morgan as the team was herded into the conference room.

"Apparently we get another new teammate pretty boy," he announced, taking a seat. "Explains that new desk they pushed in against yours."

"Yes we are," Garcia cooed. "She's adorable. I had to look up her life. I think she'll fit right in."

"I'm guessing Garcia was breaking the news?" Hotch asked as he made his entrance. Everyone nodded, watching for this new teammate they hadn't been warned about. "Her name is Gwendolyn Brooks and—"

Spencer Reid choked on his coffee upon hearing the name. Everyone turned and looked at him expectantly.

"Where did she graduate from?" he asked, trying to sound disinterested.

"Why do you ask?" Everyone had turned to face him now. Did she graduate from Caltech? And Flintridge Prepratory School?"

"Yes," he answered. "Reid, do you know her?"

"I do. We were at Caltech together. We lost touch."

"Well, she'll be down in a few minutes. You'll have to settle any bad blood."

"We should be fine Hotch."

"Wait, so pretty boy knows the new girl. I was not expecting that," Morgan laughed.

"Reid's cute. It was a matter of time," Prentiss retorted and JJ nodded in agreement.

"She's on her way down now. Let's just drop it," the genius sighed as he lowered into his chair. In truth, they'd dated for a spell, but he would not breathe a word of it to Morgan. The last time he had seen her was when he was twenty. They had dated for a couple of years and after their breakup, he found it hard to see her. He'd been working on his psychology degree and they just fell apart. Their friendship began when he started classes in Pasadena and met her in a bookstore she went to when school let out. They spent their teen years together, meeting up in the same bookstore and wandering until one or the other had to leave.

"And here she is," Rossi announced. "Ms. Gwendolyn Brooks."

"Call me Gwen," she chuckled. "I'm very excited to be working with everyone." She paused looking around the room. Her eyes landed on Spencer and she started giggling. "Spence?"

"It's me Wendy," he answered. She ran over and hugged him tightly.

"I know him!" she announced brightly, turning around to face the room. Her brown curls bounced around her face. "But I don't know anyone else. Except Agent Rossi and Agent Hotchner."

"Wendy, we've got Derek Morgan, Penelope Garcia, Emily Prentiss, and Jennifer Jareau."

"So Gwen, what was the boy genius like? This is our first experience with one of his friends," Morgan asked with a wink.

"He was a thirteen year old boy? I don't know. Normal except for the whole insanely smart thing. He taught me to rollerblade on the Venice Beach boardwalk. My parents used to take us all the time. Until Spencer could drive obviously. But Spencer's always just been Spencer. But then again it's been ten years," she babbled.

"While it's fascinating to hear about young Spencer, everyone needs to get back to work now. So go on," Rossi announced, noticing the discomfort on Reid's face.

"I'll show you to your desk," Hotch stated, escorting her to the bullpen.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**_ Chapter two time._

"So I guess you're stuck with me," Gwendolyn teased as she settled in across from Spencer.

"I suppose so," he answered, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"We'll have to catch up soon. It's been too long." Spencer furrowed his brow.

"It didn't have to be." Her face fell.

"Spencer. You know why it happened –"

"No Gwendolyn. I don't. You didn't give me warning. You just left. We could have kept in contact."

"I tried," she answered, stare fixed on Spencer. "For a genius, you can be an idiot."

"You tried for two weeks. After seven years, you could've tried a little harder. I needed a break, but that doesn't mean I wanted you gone forever."

"Spencer, we only saw each other to sleep. For two months. You could've tried then. But you chose to do more school when you could've spent a little time with me."

"It's in the past now isn't it?" he asked, his face neutural. "We can discuss it in a more appropriate venue later."

"Fine. You just seemed pleased to see me earlier."

"I was pleased to relieve the good for a minute. Then the bad hit me all over again." And with that, Spencer Reid went back to work as Gwendolyn Brooks began to work her way through her first day at the Behavioral Analysis Unit. As the day came to a close, the team made their ways to their homes. And in the parking lot, Gwendolyn caught Reid's arm.

"I know you probably don't drive. Let me give you a ride and we can yell it out in the car. Or you can come over and yell it out. The venue is up to you," she asked, or rather demanded. She stood her ground, her firm grip on Spencer's arm and gravely serious face a stark contrast from the bright yellow of her dress. Before he could answer, she pointed to her car and the genius got in. Though they'd barely noticed, their fellow agents had sensed the tension. Sideways glares and blank stares were all that had gone between the pair since their seemingly happy reintroduction. Reid had been dazed at first, but she had seemed honestly happy.

"Are we talking this out in my car or in my apartment?" She started the car and looked expectantly at her passenger.

"Statistically, a driver is more likely to crash in an emotionally compromised state. So your apartment." The drive was quiet. Spencer took to doing what he does best, spouting statistics. And Gwendolyn had missed it. But if he thought she'd admit it, he had another thing coming. They arrived and Spencer followed her up to her door and awkwardly sat on the sofa.

"Say whatever it is you need to say Spencer."

"I needed you."

"And I needed you. But you chose working and school over me. I was twenty Spencer. And I needed you too."

"Everything was good for you though. I needed you to be there. To support me. I had put my mother away against her will. She was asking me if I hated her. And you left." He was running his hands through his hair, focusing on the floor. Gwendolyn was staring at him.

"Spencer, I tried. But I didn't know how to be there. I told you that you were right. Which you were. I held your hand through all the appointments with doctors. The visits. Everything. And then when I needed you, you took up more hours. I needed you for little things too. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. You'd lived on your own since you were thirteen. I'd moved out of dorms and into an apartment with you. I didn't know how to do anything. And you assumed I should. I needed you to be there to help me figure out what the hell I was doing."

"You never told me," he answered.

"Don't you pull that. I did. But every time you told me it was vital to your schooling. Even all the extra shifts in the lab. I took it all I could, but I couldn't anymore. I was second best to school."

"Gwen, I needed you too. You could have warned me you were leaving."

"And you could have tried to find me." They stared at each other.

"Would you have come back?" he asked, his voice wavering.

"I honestly don't know."

"Can we try to be friends again? I miss you Wendy." She nodded, placing herself next to him on the couch.

"I missed you too Spence." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"So, how nervous are you about the BAU?" The Gwen he remembered never backed down from a challenge, but she most certainly had plenty of anxiety about it.

"Spencer, what if I mess it up? Who agreed to give me a gun? Look at me. I'm dainty." She was laughing, but her eyes told him she was terrified.

"Wendy, you'll do fine. Just remember, we're all a team. It doesn't all fall on one person. And you may be dainty, but I'd hate to be the unsub that crossed you."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_Chapter three. I hope everyone is enjoying this! Please review. Feedback is always appreciated._

Gwendolyn's shoes clicked against the floor, despite their lack of a heel. Today she found that sound soothing rather than annoying. Her first full day at the BAU was about to begin. She had given Spencer a ride to catch a train home and felt they had successfully reconnected and buried their past. And luckily, he did too. They'd talked into the night, during his train ride, and through his walk home. It was nice, having Spencer back and a sense of closure to their past.

"Good morning Wendy," Spencer greeted as Gwendolyn sat at her desk.

"Morning Spence," she answered. "There coffee in this joint?"

"Come on. The coffee maker is tricky, but I'll teach you. I know how you get when under caffeinated." Spencer led the way to the kitchenette. After a walkthrough, Gwen was leaning against the counter as Reid watched her.

"Spencer, why does coffee take so long?"

"The water has to heat. Then it has to pass through the coffee. These things take time."

"But Spencer, I want coffee now."

"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

"Why?" she responded.

"No statistics pretty boy?" Morgan teased. "I see the new girl beat me to making coffee."

"I need coffee," Gwen shrugged. "I promise to be more tolerable then."

"Wendy doesn't do well without coffee. Once, our coffee maker broke. I thought I was going to have to move," Spencer explained. "She's usually much more endearing than this."

"Our coffee maker? You two were a little more than friends in Pasadena then, huh?" Morgan laughed as Reid's cheeks flushed. "Don't worry, secret's safe."

"It's done!" Gwen shouted, jumping into the air. She dumped sugar and a splash of milk into a mug and filled it up. She took a large sip and sighed. "So good."

"Is she always this distracted in the mornings?" Morgan asked, leaning towards the younger agent.

"Until she gets the coffee in her hand yes. Now that she's had a sip, she'll be fine. I think it's a psychosomatic dependency."

"Spencer, don't question my coffee habits and I won't question your socks," she teased. Jumping as Hotchner's head appeared in the doorway.

"Everyone, in the conference room. We have a case," he announced. And like that he was gone again.

"Better top that off sunshine. It's time for your first case." Morgan winked as he took his own mug. Gwen took his advice and followed Spencer to find out the details of her first case. And an hour later, they were in the air. A man was killing women between twenty-five and thirty years old. They'd been kept for days and tortured. And Gwen's stomach could barely handle it. The case was bringing them to San Diego, a mere two and a half hours from where she'd met Spencer. She found it strangely comforting that her first case was near her turf.

"You'll be okay Wendy," Spencer reassured her. "It takes a while to get used to what we see. You may have nightmares. If you do, I'll come stay with you, okay? I can help you through. We all will."

"Thanks Spence," she smiled. "It's kind of funny we're so close to Pasadena. Kind of a weird circle."

"I hadn't thought of it that way. It is interesting." They landed and set to work. The beginning of the case went by in a flurry for Gwen, until the next victim showed up. When they arrived at the crime scene, Gwen froze. The body was stripped. She'd been burned and cut. Based on the angle her arm stuck out at, it was broken and whoever had killed her had eviscerated her, just like the others. But this was the first victim she had seen in person. Her stomach turned.

"Gwen, come back down," Prentiss said, placing an arm on hers. "You'll be okay. Come on. We'll go interview the parents." And they did. The victim was a teacher, Samantha, who was preparing to leave for a family vacation. She was Gwendolyn's age. She let Prentiss do the talking and offered her sympathies when possible. As they returned reunited with the team, Spencer sat next to Gwen and placed a reassuring hand on her back as he guided her to their conference space.

"A nurse, a teacher, librarian, and a store owner," Rossi reviewed. "These vics don't have anything to do with each other."

"What kind of store?" Gwen piped up. Rossi looked at her.

"Kid's clothes." She furrowed her brow.

"Samantha was an elementary teacher. Did the nurse or librarian work with kids?"

"That would be something. The unsub may be targeting these women when out with a child," Morgan noted. And as it turned out, they were a children's librarian and pediatrician's nurse. Days later they caught him before he could kill his fifth victim. He'd been finding them when taking his son out. He was delusion, thinking it was his destiny to kill them. And every night, Gwen saw Samantha's corpse in her nightmares. She woke up feeling cold. The night after catching the unsub, Gwen expected the nightmares to stop. When she shot up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, she fumbled with her phone until it rang.

"Nightmares?" Spencer mumbled into his phone. He'd seen the signs, but knowing Gwen, he didn't question her.

"Yes." Gwen was surprised how small her voice sounded.

"I'll be there in a minute." Spencer found his glasses and a sweater. He fished a couple dollars out of his wallet and stuck his wallet and room key in his pocket. Phone in one hand he stopped by the vending machine on his way to Gwen's room. She opened the door, hair in a bun on top of her head and clad in a bright blue night shirt. He extended a Kit Kat bar and bottle of water which she gladly accepted. He followed her and sat on the bed next to her.

"I keep seeing her. And she talks. She says we should've saved her." Gwen took a bite out of her chocolate, rubbing her eyes.

"It stops," Spencer said simply. "There's not too much you can do. Focus on the ones we do save. We saved the fifth girl." Gwen scrunched her face.

"Do you think I'm cut out for this?" She polished off her Kit Kat as Spencer's face grew serious.

"I know you are." Gwen wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck. He held her for what seemed like hours. She leaned back and wiped her eyes.

"Stay with me?" she asked. He nodded. She shocked him by kissing him lightly. He placed his cardigan on a chair and laid down next to Gwen, extending his arms toward her. She placed her head on his chest and held him close, the events of the last few days slowly leaving her mind as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through Spencer's hair. She drifted off to sleep and, for the first time since arriving, didn't have a nightmare at all.


End file.
